[Vintage-Audio] Re Russian Tubes

Sun Jun 2 16:41:00 2002

Kevin, 	

Thank you for some very helpful information. I concur, lunacy.	

The chassis on the Scott LK-72 will not allow for a larger tube, such as the mil
spec equiv 6L6gt. Hence, the larger Russian 7591 are not likely to fit either. 	

Whatever the market will bear, determines how much people get charged. If there
is a scarce item, and a demand for it, you pay the price or go without. The
current 'illusion' (to some extent it is true) that tube amplifiers have better
sound quality has driven the prices of audio tubes up through the roof and into
the proximity of the Moon.   	

I will check out the web site you mentioned. Thanks Kevin. 	

Duane W8DBF	

----------
From: Kevin Rank <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Vintage-Audio] Re Russian Tubes
Date: Sunday, June 02, 2002 4:06 PM

Hi Duane -

Here are the facts I know:

Antique Electronic Supply has NOS U.S. made 7591A tubes in stock.  Hope you're
sitting down for this part - they are $79.95 each new, and $44.90 used.

There are any number of sources for the Electro-Harmonix labelled tubes.  These
are
made by Sovtek.  Triode Electronics in Chicago (www.triodeelectronics.com) has a
matched pair for $43.95 and a matched quad for $87.90.  They offer a six month
warranty on these tubes.  Their website says these are "a new tube, different
from
the Sovtek 7591-XYZ."  I know you don't want speculation, but this indicates to
me
that the older versions had problems.

It is very important to note that the Russian 7591A is a bigger tube than the US
made one.  The design spec for the tube as listed in the RC-30 tube manual
indicates a maximum height of 2 3/4 inches.  The Sovtek tube is a half-inch
taller
at 3 1/4 inches.  It is also about an eight of an inch wider.  This could cause
problems in certain amps.  I would measure very carefully before I bought them.

On the subject of Russian tubes, I should note that I have used a pair of Sovtek
6V6 tubes in my Fender Princeton guitar amp.  This amp runs about 430 plate
volts -
they all do - well over the design maximum for the 6V6.  The Sovteks have held
up
for a couple of years now, and don't sound bad.  One might argue a set of NOS
RCA
6V6's would sound better, but I can't seem to find a matched set for $30!

I am in the same boat as you are with regard to 7159A tubes.  I just rebuilt a
Fisher KX-200 integrated amp for a friend.  This amp uses a quad of 7159A's.  He
has a total of 8 7159A tubes in his possession.  Four are very weak and four are
marginal.  We have the four "best" tubes in the amp now, but will likely be
putting
a set of the Russian tubes in it soon.  I can't see anyone spending $180 for a
set
of *used* US made tubes for this amp.  A quad of NOS tubes is $320.  I'm sorry,
but
this is sheer lunacy.

Kevin

"Duane Fischer, W8DBF" wrote:

>
> Hi All,
>
> I need a matched pair of 7591 for a Scott amplifier. I am told that the
Russian
> version is $23 each, about a third of the USA price. However, I have also
heard
> that the Russian tube quality leaves much to be desired. I am interested in
> facts, gentlemen, not speculation. Are the Russian tubes good bad or?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Duane Fischer, W8DBF
> [email protected]
>
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